U.S. Men Rebound to Defeat Cuba in Four at 2026 Continental Champs

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Sept. 13, 2026) –  The U.S. Men dropped its first set of the 2026 NORCECA Continental Volleyball Championship before returning to form to defeat Cuba, 3-1 (19-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-14) on Sunday.

The U.S. (3-0 and pool winner) will get a bye in the quarterfinals and play again on Tuesday, Sept. 15 in the semifinals.

The two teams were even in blocks (9-9) and aces (9-9), but the U.S. had a 51-40 advantage in kills and scored 25 points off of Cuba errors.

Hanes led all scorers with 27 points (23 kills and a team-leading four blocks). Matt Anderson had 13 kills, two blocks and two aces for 17 points, and Jordan Ewert had nine kills and an ace. Merrick McHenry had six points (four kills, two aces), setter Micah Ma’a had five points (all aces), and Jeff Jendryk had two kills, a block and an ace.

Set one was a back-and-forth battle until midway through the set. Up 12-11, Cuba reeled off five of the next seven points for a 17-13 lead. Twice, Hanes got the U.S. within three at 17-14 and 18-15, but two straight blocks gave Cuba a five-point advantage, 20-15. The U.S. could not make up the deficit in the 25-19 loss. Hanes scored nine points on nine kills.

Cuba had a three-point lead three times during set two, including leading 14-11 after a Ma’a service error. But kills from Ewert and Hanes, and a McHenry block, evened the score at 14. A Cuba service error followed by another Hanes kill gave the U.S. a 16-14 lead. Cuba battled to take the lead with a block at 20-19, but a service error and Anderson block gave the lead back to the U.S., 21-20. Tied again at 22, the U.S. benefited from a Cuba error (and a block touch challenge that failed) to go up 23-22. Kills from Ewert and Hanes finally evened the match at 1-1 at 25-23. Hanes led the U.S. again with six points.

The U.S. was in control during the third set, grabbing a four-point lead (14-10) after a Cuban service error. Anderson notched an ace and a kill on the next two points to increase the lead to six. Cuba closed it to three with a service ace and block of Hanes, but McHenry grabbed a kill to make it 22-18. Ma’a stepped to the service line to deliver two aces to give the U.S. set point, and a U.S. block closed it out. Anderson scored six for the U.S. and Ma’a had four aces.

Back in its rhythm, the U.S. jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the fourth. Cuba cut the lead in half at 10-8, but a Ewert kill, Cuba error, another Ma’a ace, two Hanes kills, and blocks from both McHenry and Hanes increased the lead to nine, 17-8. A tough Anderson serve led to a back row kill from the U.S. star to make it 20-9, and he followed it with an ace for 21-9. Hanes gave the team match point with a kill, and Anderson finished it out with his fifth kill of the set.

2026 NORCECA Continental Championship Roster

No., Name (Pos., Height, Hometown, College, USAV Region)
1 Matt Anderson (OH, 6-10, West Seneca, N.Y., Penn State, Western Empire)
3 Mason Briggs (L, 6-0, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State, Southern California Southern Nevada)
4 Jeff Jendryk (MB, 6-10, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola Chicago, Great Lakes)
7 Jacob Pasteur (OH, 6-4, Westminster, Md., Ohio State, Chesapeake)
8 Patrick Rogers (OH, 6-7, Rutherford, N.J., Ball State, Garden Empire)
12 Michael Marshman (MB, 6-7, Glenmont, N.Y., St. Francis Univ., Excelsior Empire)
14 Micah Ma’a (S, 6-3, Kaneohe, Hawaii, UCLA, Aloha)
15 Andrew Rowan (S, 6-7, Trabuco Canyon, Calif., UCLA, Southern California Southern Nevada)
17 Jake Hanes (OPP, 6-10, Orland Park, Ill., Ohio State Univ., Great Lakes)
18 Cole Hartke (OPP, 7-0, Barrington, Ill., Pepperdine, Great Lakes)
22 Erik Shoji (L, 6-0, Honolulu, Hawaii, Stanford Univ., Aloha)
24 Merrick McHenry (MB, 6-7, Bedford, Texas, UCLA, North Texas)
26 Matthew Knigge (MB, 6-7, New Egypt, N.J., Vassar, Garden Empire)
29 Jordan Ewert (OH, 6-5, Antioch, Calif., Stanford, Northern California)

Head Coach:  Karch Kiraly
Assistant Coach: Luka Slabe
Assistant Coach: Javier Weber
Performance Analyst/Team Manager: Nate Ngo
Physiotherapist: Aaron Brock
Senior Strength and Conditioning Coach: Tim Pelot
Statistician: Kailani Wang

Schedule

All times Pacific
Sept. 11: USA def. Guatemala, 3-0 (25-13, 25-13, 25-11)
Sept. 12: USA def. Dominican Republic, 3-0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-19)
Sept. 13: USA def. Cuba, 3-1 (19-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-14)
Sept. 14: Quarterfinals and Classification
Sept. 15: Semifinals
Sept. 16: Finals